The Other Child

Suspicions cloud a new marriage in Atkins's gripping sophomore effort. Tess, an accomplished London photographer and the single mother of a nine-year-old son, Joe, meets Greg Gallo, a pediatric heart surgeon. After a whirlwind romance, they marry and relocate to Boston. When Tess becomes pregnant, she's thrilled, but Greg, who had made it clear that he didn't want children, is perturbed and uninterested in impending fatherhood. Tess begins to be troubled by Joe's difficulty in adjusting to his new locale and by an unfriendly neighbor who's obsessed with Greg. Signs suggest something is amiss, including ominous letters left on her doorstep, which Greg can't explain. Tess fears that Greg is withholding information about his past. Her concerns are amplified when another man, Alex Kingman, claims to know Greg, which he denies with visible discomfort. As Tess's suspicions and fear of Greg grow, she finds it necessary to investigate and discover whether Greg is really who he says he is. Atkins (The Missing One) keeps the suspense high to the startling conclusion. Agent: Judith Murray, Greene & Heaton (U.K.). (Feb.)